A board of inquiry which published its findings
in December said the crash was not survivable but did admit
that the lack of a fuel tank safety system was one of the
factors which could have contributed to the crash. The crash
was the single largest loss of British life in Iraq since
military action began in 2003.
The explosive-suppressant foam stops fuel tanks from exploding
when pierced by bullets. One US plane shot 19 times in Iraq
still managed to land safely. With the continued lack of foam
on Hercules planes, campaigners say they will sue ministers
for corporate manslaughter if any more lives are lost because
of a lack of protective equipment. An internal RAF document
obtained by BBC Radio 4's Today programme suggested requests
were made for the explosive-suppressant foam at least as early
as 2002. The document read: "Urgent operational requests
for all Hercules aircraft should continue to be actively pursued.
Specifically, all aircraft should be fitted with fire suppressants
in fuel tanks."
The programme was told one US pilot refused to fly in a British
plane because of concerns he had about safety. Former RAF
Hercules pilot Nigel Gilbert, who trained with the pilot killed
in the attack, said: "I believe the probability is that
the crew would have survived the attack if the aircraft had
explosive suppressant foam in the fuel tanks. The crew was
so good they could have even put it down in a road or put
their landing gear up and landed it straight ahead in the
desert. It was as flat as a pancake."
A statement from the MoD said “The safety of our armed
forces personnel is of paramount importance. Only Hercules
with appropriate defensive countermeasures are deployed to
operational theatres. Furthermore, we have decided to fit
Explosion Suppressant Foam (ESF) to some of our aircraft;
concentrating on the aircraft that operate in the highest
threat environment. Decisions to fit the rest of the Hercules
fleet will take into consideration the time it will take to
fit, the impact on operations, the remaining service life
of the aircraft, and cost. ESF is just one of the technical
and tactical steps we take to protect our aircraft”
Explosion Suppressant Foam (ESF) has been used successfully
in thousands of installations for over three decades. Because
of its unique characteristics, special advantages, and cost-effectiveness,
industry, government agencies, and organisations around the
world are incorporating SafeCrest™
in special use vehicles of all kinds-aircraft and land vehicles,
VIP vehicles, competition cars and boats, recreational watercraft,
consumer vehicles-for added safety and/or fuel surge control
and noise mitigation. SafeCrest™
ESF has an impressive track record of success for many years.
It is currently used in foreign military transport/reconnaissance
aircraft such as C-130 Hercules and P-3 Orions and fighter
aircraft as well as military helicopters, battle tanks, and
transport vehicles.
Michael Moore, foreign affairs spokesman for the Liberal
Democrats, said it was "scandalous" that only some
of the planes were to be fitted with the foam. "We've
got very serious and dangerous deployments in Afghanistan
and Iraq - we've just deployed four Hercules to Afghanistan.
Given that low-level daylight flying is still required, we
ought to have every available security protection. We don't
have them."
Shadow defence secretary Liam Fox said the cost would only
be about £275,000 plus £50,000 per aircraft. "If
the American and Australian governments are fully protecting
their servicemen and women, it's a disgrace we can't,"
he said. |
